


See Me From Within

by Vox_Populi



Series: Traveler’s Song [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Backstory, Gen, Parents who mean well, Training, but fail
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:20:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27006472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vox_Populi/pseuds/Vox_Populi
Summary: Denied at every turn, Rei fights for the chance to find her own path
Series: Traveler’s Song [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1962292
Kudos: 1





	See Me From Within

“No” 

Growing up, Cirina hated the word ‘no’. The youngest of a set of triplets, she heard it far too often; ‘No, you’re too young’ (though her brothers were often allowed). ‘No, you’re too small still’, ‘No, you’re too weak’ too this, too that. All the while, her brothers were allowed to do the things she was denied. She understood where people where coming from, considering she’d nearly died at birth, but it was just so *frustrating* being denied the training that all clan children received because of a remembered weakness from when she was an infant. 

Eventually, she stopped asking for permission. She followed her brothers to training and sat on the sidelines absorbing everything she could, then slipping off by herself to practice what she had seen. Snatching a few minutes for herself here and there to teach herself the skills and techniques she so desperately yearned for.

————————————

The first time Khai saw the girl, she was perched on the hillside overlooking the training grounds, gaze fixed on the drills being run. “Who’s the kid?” He asked the training master, Dorbei. 

“Hm? Ah, Shar and Chigu’s youngest. Smart girl. Driven. A pity they’ve forbidden her from training.” Dorbei smirked, “of course, nothing stops her from observing, and perhaps practicing what she sees in private.” 

Khai eyed his friend sidelong, “I know you. What are you after ‘Bei?” 

“You’re bored, my friend. You only returned to the clan because that injury took you off the battlefield for good. The kid’s wasted here, stifled. She’ll never be able to reach the potential I see in her. Her parents mean well, but she’s come a long way from being a tiny sickly baby.” Dorbei folded his arms across his chest and barked a command to the trainees. “It’s just a suggestion. But I think the two of you would be good for each other. You’d have something to do, and she’d have someone who actually supports her.” Dorbei waved a hand in the air as he strode forward to correct one of the sparring teenagers form, “Think about it.” He called, turning to the waiting trainee, adjusting the boy’s form and explaining the kata in a pitch that, Khai noted wryly, was designed to carry. He turned his gaze back to the hillside, where the girl was still staring at the training ground, transfixed, furiously scribbling what were most likely notes on a sheaf of papers in her hands. 

Well, Dorbei was right about one thing at least; he _was_ bored. Perhaps he would track the girl down later and see if ‘Bei was right about the rest.

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from Waterborne by Futuristik. I can also be found on : [tumblr](%E2%80%9C)


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